The Exam Game - Astronomy
by 89JadedPictures
Summary: Ron, Pansy, Lisa and Megan are the four fated to take the Astronomy exam, one that is not for the faint of heart. With one night and 80 nautical miles to sail, the four must use their Astronomy skills to sail from France to England. And, if that wasn't hard enough, Mother Nature decides to add an extra obstacle. (Rated M for language)(Second installment to "The Exam Game" series.)


**A/N: Welcome to the Astronomy**** section of this Exam. Enjoy.**

**Part 1**

**Tuesday September 7th, 1998 – 5:26 a.m. (GMT +0)/6:26 a.m. (GMT+1)**

**2 Nautical miles to go**

As the song Sexy Sadie came to an end, the four of them turned to the starboard side, mouths agape, as the rushing wind of a forming wave tore at their clothes. They watched, shell shocked, as the wall of water that was at least a quarter mile high over their ship began to break.

Then the track switched.

(When I get to the bottom, I go back to the top of the slide…)

Ron was the first to react, grabbing both Pansy and Megan by their arms and pushing them towards the wheelhouse. As he passed the stock-still Lisa, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her after the Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

(… then I stop, and I turn, and I go for a ride…)

Megan closed the door behind him as the wave crashed onto the deck, the ship rocking wildly and throwing them all into the portside wall of the wheelhouse as the water forced its way under the door, and their portkey blared on.

(… then I get to the bottom and I see you again.)

**(*)**

**Monday September 6th, 1998 – 10:15 a.m. (GMT+1)/9:15 a.m. (GMT+0)**

**81 Nautical miles to go**

"It looks simple enough."

It didn't…

"I'm pretty sure I read something about sailing a couple summers ago."

He hadn't.

"I should probably start with just undoing the sails."

He probably _shouldn't_ do that…q

"How about you start with the manual, _Weasel_."

Ron Weasley, Lisa Turpin, Megan Jones, and Pansy Parkinson had appeared below deck, in the cabin of the strangest ship any of them had ever seen. They had exited the one cabin, a good-sized room with a bed, walked through the small galley and mess hall, and up the stairs into the bright sunlight of Bray-Dunes, France.

The four had been instantly taken with surprise, probably Ron more so than the others, at the sight of the strange vessel on which they stood.

It was an odd thing, perhaps nine or ten meters in length, not unlike a pirate ship, but stood apart in the fact that it had a sub-leveled wheelhouse topped with a piece of glass that resembled the arrow of a compass; the widest point, above the door, was highest at about three and a half yards, and at the point, it was the shortest at about two yards. This point led into a glass bowsprit, allowing the navigator of the vessel a clear line of vision ahead. Above the wheelhouse, the foremast, foresail, and jib blocked some of the visibility of the sky, but it wasn't something a charm cast upon the sails couldn't help.

Panic threw him into overdrive at the thought of being on a ship docked in foreign territory, and Ron quickly turned to open the pack in his hand in search of information. He found the rolled piece of parchment at the bottom of the otherwise empty backpack, and he broke the seal and unrolled it so as to read it aloud:

"Mr, Weasley,

"It is in good spirits that I welcome you, Miss Parkinson, Miss Turpin, and Miss Jones to Bray-Dunes, France. It is the northernmost port in the country, settled near the border of Belgium, as well as the border of the English Channel and the North Sea. It is also the starting point in your Astronomical voyage back to England.

"Your ship, "The Sea Hag", is custom built and owned by the Ministry of Magic, so do well to handle her with care. It is presently disillusioned to Muggles. It lacks any form of mechanical or magical propulsion, and relies solely on sailing. It is a small vessel, but it should be able to get you to England by your deadline if weather, knowledge of Astronomy, and camaraderie allow.

"It would also help if you choose a captain, for I hear every ship needs one of those, though I do encourage you continuing to work as the team that you are while undertaking this task.

"Know that compasses and "Point Me's" are not cleared for your use during this exam, and are considered cheating. The ship's navigation system has been deactivated for this one voyage. You will forfeit your early summer if you chose to use a compass, "Point Me", or figure out some way to reactivate the navigation system.

"You are, however, allowed a map, a manual for the ship, and as many books on sailing that I could find - the books will appear in your bag as you need them. There is enough food and water in the galley to last you a week, but let us hope it does not come to that."

"You're telling me!" yelled the astonished Pansy. Lisa and Megan also wore looks of horror.

Ron went on.

"Seeing as the nature of your task has the potential to be quite dangerous, your group alone has been given the special privilege of using your Portkey before you have completed your test. You must all touch the Portkey at once for you to be sent home early. Do keep in mind your Portkey is not only fragile, but my own personal possession. Play it in the record player within the wheelhouse to ensure its safety, for the ship has exclusively nautical protection charms that will keep it, and the ship, safe and sound.

"We at Hogwarts hope to see you back by 8 a.m. GMT (+0) tomorrow, successful and in time for breakfast. I suggest you begin navigating the second that you are able, and do keep in mind the time difference, for you are an hour ahead.

"Good luck, and Merlin's speed. Minerva McGonagall."

Some ten minutes later, Ronald Weasley was attempting to convince his team mates, as well as himself, that he could sail the boat without first looking at the books.

Lisa was not usually one to be rude, unlike Pansy. She'd certainly never call him "Weasel". But the Ravenclaw had to say something once she'd heard him mention the sails.

"Weasley," Lisa started, "Parkinson has a point. We should read the manual, because, even if you did read a book at some point some years back, I highly doubt you were able to pick it up after that one study session."

"Get 'im, Turpin," Pansy said with a smirk pointed at Ron, who did not take kindly to either woman's words.

"I'm with them," Megan threw in. "While you all do that, I'm going to get a look at those maps."

"Are your parents topographers or something?" Lisa asked, but not to be rude, as previously mentioned. She just wondered why the witch was so apt to look at them.

"No," Megan said. "I just like maps. My mum's a dermatologist, and my dad works for M.O.M."

"My mum is a witch," Lisa began, "and seamstress, and my dad is a fisherman. But is that-"

Before she could continue talking, Ron rudely cut her off by asking, "And you didn't think to tell us until now that your dad is a sailor?"

"Did I say sailor?" Lisa asked.

"No. You said fisherman, but-"

Lisa was the one to cut him off, saying, "Yes, Weasley. Fisherman. Not a sailor. He owns a steamboat, not a sailboat. I know a bit about boats, and some things about ships, but sailing? No. Anyway. Megan. Your mum's a dermatologist. Is that why your skin looks so soft?" Lisa asked.

Ron tilted his head at her in confusion, because he wasn't sure where the hell her last question had come from, or how it bore any relevance to the situation which they were in; a situation that he was currently trying not to panic about.

"Yes." Megan answered. Her usually stern face adopted a lighter expression as she said, "Feel."

Ron tilted his head at Megan.

The Hufflepuff leaned forward ever so slightly, and Lisa reached up to stroke her cheek with the pad of her thumb, saying in an appreciative whisper, "Soooft."

Ron tilted his head back at Lisa.

"Oh!" Pansy exclaimed. "I want to feel."

Ron tilted his head at Pansy.

The Slytherin witch caressed the Hufflepuff's face as well, who was momentarily put off at the contact until the Slytherin crooned, "Smoooth", at which Megan grinned, even when Pansy asked, "Muggles did this to you?"

Ron palmed his face, cursing his shite luck of being sorted into a group full of girls. Most men would have found this awesome. Hell, he'd thought it awesome until the touching display, which, if he was to be honest, was still pretty awesome. But! They had no time to be playing "grab face".

He tried like hell to not let his mind wander, forcing his eyes to close so as to cut off their visage as he said loudly, "We need to get this ship on the sea. Can we_\- please_ just start sailing?"

"Who died and made you the captain?" Pansy asked, her usual scowl in place, which was odd all at once because she was still somehow smirking.

Ron began to stutter and splutter ineloquently, and quite unattractively, trying to think of a reason for his being captain that didn't make him sound like a total pile of shite. But, before he could formulate an entirely offensive sentence, Megan interjected.

"All in favor of Lisa being our captain say "aye"."

"Aye," Lisa and Pansy chorused. Then Lisa added with a smile, "Oh! I am honored!"

"Hey!" Ron almost sounded like he was whining while saying this. "Well- didn't _you_ want to be captain?" he asked Pansy.

She scoffed before grabbing Lisa's blue tie and holding it out so that he could get a good look at the Ravenclaw house crest as she said, "See this? This means she's a thinker. I am a strategist. And," she let go Lisa's tie to announce, "I hold the highest score for Astronomy in our year behind your girlfriend-"

"She's not my girlfriend," he interjected, because they all knew who scored higher than everyone.

"- and Padma Patil, so it only makes sense that I get to navigate. I'm flying this bird."

"Done," Lisa said definitively. "Pansy will fly, Megan will chart our journey, Ron will be our muscle and hoist the sails, and I will do whatever I can to help.

"But first, we study."

"No. First, we sail, then we study along the way," Ron said.

"Ah, Gryffindors," Pansy said with a mock sigh of bliss. "Such doers… Not much for thinkers. Sans Granger, of course. This is McGonagall's insane idea. A Gryffindor's idea. A doers idea, and it's half-baked, and the only way we're going to succeed is if we do what makes sense, which is what Lisa thinks we should do.

"We study the books, and we wait until nightfall, Weasel, because that's when there'll be _bloody stars_!"

"North-west, Parkinson," Ron said through gritted teeth. "We're heading north fucking west!"

"Oh, shite," Pansy said with wide-eyes, another mock expression, but this time of surprise. "It _does _think."

Ron glared at her, and Lisa found this the appropriate time to step in before the insults got any harsher.

"If I look at the books, it is possible I could get us moving smoothly rather than with a bunch of mishaps," Lisa explained to him calmly. "The more time I have to do that, the more likely it is I'll succeed. But it's not going to be easy with you two griping at one another."

"She's being condescending!" He yelled while pointing a finger at Pansy.

"Was that a word with more than three syllables?! Holy mother of Merlin!" Pansy exclaimed.

Megan sighed at the three who stood together, the Slyth and Gryff still bickering, for she wholeheartedly agreed with Lisa. Not so much because she was a peace-loving Hufflepuff, for she was often far from it, but because she knew that nothing came from their fighting at a time like this. It was anger and hate for no reason other than to harass and berate one another, and that was just fucking pointless.

The Hufflepuff witch, who still held the vinyl Portkey, grabbed up the backpack that Ron had set down at some point during reading their instructions, and she made to the wheelhouse to plot a course, thinking of what had even gotten them in this mess to begin with.

**(*)**

**Monday Sept 6th, 1998 – 8:25 a.m. (GMT+0)/9:25 a.m. (GMT+1)**

**Nautical Miles?**

Megan looked up with a curious tilt of her head as a purple orb stopped and floated above her. She liked the color, and was happy with it until she began to look around the Great Hall for her teammates.

First she noticed Ron to her left, which wasn't so bad until she saw Pansy walking towards her from her right. Lisa walked up to Megan's left just as the Slytherin and Gryffindor closed the gap between them.

"It looks like it's us, then," Lisa said with a pleasant smile. "I hope we get Charms, or History of Magic."

"A Ravenclaw would wish that," Pansy commented.

Lisa gave a small frown as she replied, "I'm sure you're hoping for Potions."

"Yes. That or Herbology. They fall hand in hand quite nicely," Pansy said with her own glare.

"It doesn't matter what we get. We just need to pass." Megan said this, already trying to keep the peace, and they hadn't even officially started their test yet.

"Oh," Ron said with a tight jaw. "We're passing if it kills me. I need to get out of here as soon as I can."

Megan didn't want to think about why that was, though she had an idea. Pansy, however, didn't catch on to the unspoken reasoning behind the Weasley man's anxiety, for she asked crudely,

"Really? That eager to live above the three Ws and smoke grass and be a burnout?"

Before Ron's scowling lips could open and reply, McGonagall called out the rules of their test. Megan was wide-eyed, and slightly worried by the end of the speech, then nearly walked out the door when the Headmistress begin to laugh at her student's surprised and fearful faces.

But the Hufflepuff was able to calm some while they watched Hermione, Harry, and Draco be swept off to their test. Then they watched Dean, Sally-Anne, Seamus, and Tracey choose Muggle Studies.

Megan was looking at the other teams when McGonagall said, "Next we will have the purple team. Step forward, please."

The four did as they were told, walking up the three stairs to stand before McGonagall and the short pedestal. The elder witch smiled as she said, "Mr. Weasley. Please choose a Portkey."

"Why does _he_ get to choose?" Pansy asked with furrowed brows.

"Because he's the only male. I did the same with Miss Granger, though I didn't have to worry about the blue team seeing as Mr. Finnegan took the choosing upon himself," the Headmistress answered, adding an eye-roll to the last bit about Seamus.

Ron smiled in both triumph and fondness, saying, "The rapscallion." McG frowned at him. "You do know they're off having a blast, right?"

"She doesn't want to hear about what you have to say, Weasley," Pansy snipped, crossing her arms and setting her weight to one side.

He glared back at her, retorting, "Who are you to judge that? You're just bent because Hermione took Potions from you."

"There's still Herbology, dunce," Pansy replied.

"Miss Jones," McGonagall began, turning to the Hufflepuff who had decided to reach into the box herself, pulling out the vinyl record. "You have chosen The Beatles' "White Album". Your subject is Astronomy."

"Cool," Lisa said with a small smile. Ron sighed with irritation, and Pansy threw her hands up in exasperation, saying,

"Well at least we didn't get Muggle Studies."

Megan, one of the two Half-bloods on the team, the other being Lisa, frowned at Pansy as she asked, "What's wrong with Muggle Studies?"

Hearing such hostility from a Hufflepuff made Pansy's smug expression fall, and she held her hands up as she said, "I meant nothing by it, Jones. I'm just admitting that I would have very little to contribute to our test."

"Well let's hope you have something to contribute to _this_ test, Parkinson," Ron sneered.

"Please," McGonagall interrupted, obviously tired of the bickering already. "Take your pack. It is the black one."

Ron grumbled as he made his way to the pack, then walked back to his group to reach out and grab the edge of the record. "Let's get on with it, then," he muttered.

Lisa grabbed the record between Ron and Megan, and Pansy, with an eye-roll, grabbed the record opposite Lisa, and before they knew it they'd appeared in the cabin of "The Sea Hag".

**(*)**

**Monday September 6th, 1998 – 10:25 a.m. (GMT+1)/9:25a.m. (GMT+0)**

**81 Nautical miles to go**

Lisa watched with a sigh as Megan practically ran to hide in the wheelhouse, and the captain of The Sea Hag to her two remaining bickering teammates, saying, "I'm going to shore to get the scoop on the weather reports and see if there is anything we might need for the trip. When I get back we'll begin figuring out sailing."

"Perfect!" Pansy said, raising her wand and conjuring her coin purse. "I need a bottle of Merlot. A good one. And if you see a cute bathing suit, I'll take one of those too. The one I have is outdated."

Lisa joined Ron in his glaring at the Slytherin, and replied, "Why would you need a bathing suit?"

"Planning on being thrown overboard?" Ron asked.

"No," Pansy answered with a sneer, before turning to Lisa to explain. "If we're not leaving until nightfall, then I plan to enjoy some sun while we do some reading."

"This isn't a holiday, Parkinson," Ron reminded her.

Pansy knew this. She just wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity. She didn't say this though, and instead tossed her money at Lisa, who barely caught it. Her hands were made for holding books, not catching things.

"Why don't you get your own things?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know the conversion of Muggle money," the Slytherin stated.

"And you think I do?" Lisa asked, appalled by Pansy's nerve.

"Well… yes. You're a Half-blood. Doesn't your Muggle dad use Muggle money?"

"Yes, Parkinson. But he uses Pounds. Not Francs. Different Muggles use different currency," Lisa explained.

"Wow," Pansy said. "I didn't know that."

At first Lisa thought she was being a prat, until she realized that Pansy's look of amazement was genuine, which made the Ravenclaw throw her hands up in annoyance as she walked down the plank and onto the dock, and began moving towards the shops of Bray-Dunes.

The Gryff and Slyth looked to one another, and their glares were instantly back in place. But, instead of taking their fight to the next level, Ron turned and made down the stairs to the galley for food, and the witch drew a long breath before Calling the sailing books from the pack to begin leafing through the pages.

**(*)**

**Monday September 6th, 1998 – 6:00 p.m. (GMT+1)/5:00 p.m. (GMT+0)**

**81 Nautical miles to go**

"Well," Lisa began. "This should be hard as hell, but I think we can do it."

"I hope so," Pansy said as she reviewed a certain page in the sailing book for the tenth time. She wore the burgundy bathing suit Lisa had found, which she'd dawned immediately after magically adjusting it to fit her. "It's four o'clock, so if we're going to make it by morning, we should probably start working the kinks out soon."

"Agreed. Go get Weasley while I get Jones," Lisa said.

"Why do I have to get him?" Pansy asked.

"Captain," was the only word Lisa gave her before standing and walking to the cabin that "Long, Long, Long" was playing from.

Lisa, however big a fan she was of the Fabulous Four, turned the volume down on the record-player as she began, "Pansy and I may have figured out this sailing thing. So we're gonna push off pretty soon."

"Rad," Megan said in a neat monotone, turning from the large console where maps and manuals lie on the dead controls. "I officially calculated the ocean miles-"

"Nautical miles," Lisa corrected.

Megan didn't even blink at the interruption, simply going on, "- and it's roughly 80 to Felixstowe. If we can get this bitch running at ten knots, which is what the manual said was its average speed, we could be there by three a.m. But that is if we leave in an hour."

"Well. The time is now, then," Lisa said.

"It is," Megan consented.

"Then we should get dinner going beforehand," the Rave stated, then made to turn and leave, but not before the Hufflepuff could ask,

"Do you really think we'll be able to make it?"

Lisa gave the question a few seconds thought before answering, "If Pansy can keep us on the right course, and if Ron and I can get tree sails in the correct positions, we should be just fine. I asked a fisherman what the weather should be like, and he said it's clear skies for the next week. What we should really be worried about is whether or not the other two will be able to work together and keep us on track."

"They hate each other," Megan said, stating the obvious.

"Indeed. They do," Lisa consented. A few seconds of silence befell the two, wherein they thought about their task at hand, as well as its difficulties, before the Ravenclaw asked, "Do you have any food allergies before I start making dinner?"

"No," Megan answered.

"Just wondering," Lisa said as she walked from the cabin and down the stairs.

**(*)**

Pansy watched Lisa and Megan begin to speak, and tried to quell her annoyance as she made to go downstairs to do her captain's bidding.

Ron had been MIA most of the day, waiting for his summons from his place in the galley, rather than helping them outright. She'd told him to help them with studying during lunch, but he hadn't even acknowledged her. The Slytherin had looked to her Huff and Rave teammates, neither of which seemed happy with Ron's silence.

She was angry with the Gryffindor for not wanting to help more than he was, but she did her best to quell her anger as she thought of how she had done nothing to help in the battle as she walked through the galley and into the open door of the cabin.

On the bed, Ron was fast asleep, his back to the door. The irritation she had swallowed rose up her throat as she made quick steps to the side of the bed, grabbed him by his shoulder, and turned him onto his back as she began yelling, "Weasley! Why are you-"

But she stopped, for his freshly opened eyes were red and puffy from crying himself to sleep, and she could find no more words as the blue orbs stared up into her own brown. She blinked down at his startled expression, her face softening as she asked,

"Were you down here crying?"

His face instantly turned sour, and he pushed her out of the way as he made to stand and leave. But she was more stable in her stance than he was sitting down, and she used this to push him back down onto his arse.

He looked up at her in annoyance, but she ignored it as she said, "If you're having a hard time, Weasley, you should have told us. We're your teammates, and we are in this together."

"Why in the bloody hell do you care?" he sneered. "Don't fucking act like you care, Parkinson."

Over head, the sound of Lisa walking about could be heard, and Pansy closed the cabin door with a quick wave of her wand, turning back to say, "I care because we have an exam we all want to pass, and if you're not feeling up to it, you need to tell me so that we can think of a different plan."

"I'll be fine, Parkinson. It's called grief," Ron stood at this, pushing her back and away, but she wouldn't let him go just yet

"Ron," she stopped him by grabbing his arm, and he turned back to look at her with both surprise and frustration. "I- I know that what happened to your family is terrible. I am not judging you for grieving. I just want to make sure that you'll be able to go forward with this."

She didn't know why she said these things to him, except for perhaps she sympathized with him some. She hadn't lost a loved one during the battle, but she was sure he still ached with pain unimaginable to her. She had been rude and brutish with him before this point, but she could not give him a hard time for the death of his brother.

He studied her face for a few solid seconds before his eyes fell to her hand then travelled to other places that were made more obvious by her bikini.

Just as she noticed his wandering gaze he pulled his arm from hers, the man no longer caring for her touch, and answered, "I don't need your sympathy, Parkinson. I'm fine, and I'll be able to do my part."

He turned from her then, opening the cabin door and walking into the galley where Lisa was looking through the fridge. She looked up to him with a straight face as he entered, asking,

"Did Parkinson find you?"

"Yeah," he answered, moving past her to the stairs.

"Well we're casting off in an hour. I'm going to figure out dinner and then you and I should get familiar with the sails and their rigging."

He'd paused at the bottom of the stairs as she'd kept talking, and he glanced back at Pansy before turning to Lisa to say, "Of course. I'm ready when you are."

She gave a small smile that almost looked relieved, and she then changed her expression to one of concern to ask, "Do either of you have food allergies?"

"No," Ron answered, as Pansy replied,

"No. Why?"

Lisa shrugged at her, saying, "I'm just used to asking. My little sister is only eight, but she has such bad allergies to nuts that she goes into anaphylactic shock. I'm just making sure before I make something."

"Can I help you?" Pansy asked, walking from the cabin door to stand by the fridge near Lisa. The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor looked to one another with raised brows of surprise.

"Sure," Lisa consented, then asked, "Do you like cooking?"

Pansy shrugged. "I've never tried. But I can eyeball measure ingredients, as well as follow instructions from all of this time focusing on Potions."

Lisa nodded at this, seeing the logic there, and said, "Sounds good. I'd like the help."

Pansy smiled at her, before Lisa turned back to sift through the contents of the fridge, and the Slytherin and Gryffindor shared one more look before Ron took up the stairs.

**A/N:** So this is the next bit of the Exam Game. This one will only be two parts. Most of these installments will be only two parts, but I think some will be three, and some only one. Anywho! What do you think?


End file.
